David r



(No Medel.)

D. R. 'PROOTOR. LABEL HOLDER FOR FREIGHT (JARS.

No. 411,471. Patented Sept. 24, 1889.v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID R. PROCTOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK P. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,471, dated September 24;, 1889.

Application filed February 28, 1899. Serial No. 301,478. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, DAVID R. PROCTOR, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Label-Holders for Freight-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full," clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in label-holders for freight-cars; and it consists in a label-holder made up of a substantially rigid frame with cross braces. The cross-braces have their ends bent to embrace the rim, said ends being so located that they will brace the rim and provide stops to prevent lateral movement of the rim upon its hinges, such a label-holder being adapted to be used with a gravity-latch, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

Prior to my invention it has been proposed to provide label-holders for freight or other cars with a frame serving as a support for an elastic netting, beneath which the label is placed, said label-holder being springactuated to hold the same against the car. In practice such a construction is objectionable for many reasons, among which it may be stated that, being spring-supported, it does not have a positive engagement above and below with the ear-body; also, the upper portion of the label-holder is liable to remain a slight distance from the car when its lower portion contacts with the label, sothat there is not a pressure upon the Whole surface of the label. The objections incident to such construction are fully overcome by the device, which I will now proceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of the specification, I have illustrated my improvement by a perspective view, in which A refers to the rim, which is made up of a bar of metal bent to formarectangularframe, the ends of said bar being secured to each other preferably by passing them into a short section of tube or sleeve a.

This rim A, though made of a bar having a slight spring, is quite stiff, and is rendered more so by the arrangement of the cross-bars. The crossbars are preferably six in number, though more or less may be employed, siX being sufficient to hold'cards or labels securely in po sition. These cross-bars extend diagonally across the frame, the. longer bars extending from corner to corner, while the shorter bars extend from near the center of the sides to points 0 c and c c on each side of the center of the upper and lower cross-pieces of the frame, and form stops to prevent lateral movement of the frame.

The upper cross-piece of the rim A is bent slightly outwardly, or bulged from end to end, and if desirable the lower cross-piece of the frame may be similarly bent.

The label holder or frameis attached to the side of the car by means of the castingsD D, the upper or enlarged ends of which have perforations therein, within which the lower cross-piece of the frame lies, and if this crosspiece is curved slightly outward it will exert a pressure which will prevent rattling and undue motion, which will cause wear not only upon the parts comprising the label-holder, but also upon the card itself.

E refers to the loop in which the necked bolt F slides, said bolt having a projection f, which serves as an operating-knob and stop. The lower end of the bolt overlies the upper cross-piece between the eyes 0 when in engagement therewith. The parts above described form a gravity-latch, and when in engagement With the upwardly-curved crosspiece the parts are held firm.

The frame, consisting of the rim and crossbars, after being assembled is plated or galvanized, which will not only prevent rustin g, but will also hold the parts securely to each other at the joints, thus providing substantially a non-elastic frame.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- 1. In. a label-holder for cars, a frame made up of bar A, the ends thereof being secured to each other, cross'bars extending from the corners of said rectangular frame, and bars extending from the side pieces to near the centers of the upper and lower cross-pieces of the frame, hinges for securing the frame to the car-body, one of said hinges being secured snugly between the ends of the diagonal bars, and a latch having a gravity-bolt which passes over the upper cross-piece between the upper ends of the diagonal bars, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, in a label-holder for cars, of a frame made up of a rim or bar A, the ends of which are jointed together, diagonal cross-bars secured to said rim, the upper cross-piece of said rim being curved outwardly, castings D, for pivotally connecting the frame to the side of the car, and a vertically-moving latch-bolt adapted to engage the center of the upper cross-piece of the frame, so as to hold the same against the carbody, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a label-holder for cars, of a bar A, bent to form a rectangular frame, the upper and lower cross-pieces thereof being curved or bent outwardly, diagonal cross-bars extending from corner to corner of the frame, short crossbars attached to the center of the vertical side pieces of the frame, said cross-bars lying above the longer diaognal bars, their upper and lower endsbeing secured tothe horizontal pieces of the frameA on each side of the centers, hinges D D, for attaching the frame to the car-body, the center hinge lying between the eyes 0 c, and a gravity-latch secured to the car-body above the frame, said latch being adapted to engage with the upper cross-piece between the eyes 0, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID R. PROCTOR.

Witnesses:

J. W. MERRIAM, GEO. E. MoHIE. 

